The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines a "willful" violation as one where the employer either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement or acted with plain indifference to employee safety....more
In her 2023 Enforcement Report, Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda revealed enhanced coordination with OSHA to hold employers and supervisors accountable for repeat and willful violations, especially those that lead to worker...more
In September 2022, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a directive expanding the scope of its Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). SVEP singles out employers that OSHA concludes have...more
On May 24, 2023, Governor Tina Kotek signed into law legislation raising the maximum penalties for workplace fatality–related citations in Oregon far above federal limits. The law took effect immediately....more
Those of us who deal with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have watched with interest the agency’s ongoing enforcement efforts against the Dollar General retail chain. Since 2017, OSHA has assessed...more
In recent years, we have written extensively about the huge increases in fines and other penalties assessed by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). These fines are multiplied in situations where...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has increased its minimum and maximum penalties for workplace safety and health violations by 7.7 percent effective January 17, 2023. Today, a “serious” violation...more
On September 15, 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published Directive Number CPL 02-00-169, a new instruction to its enforcement arm, updating policies and procedures for OSHA’s Severe...more
On Tuesday, October 27, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued a long- awaited decision in Sec’y of Labor v. Wynnewood Refining Co., LLC. That case originated in 2012 when OSHA inspected the company...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has now issued its second set of coronavirus-related citations, this time against an Ohio health-care company. OSHA inspected three of the...more
Congress took employers by surprise when it increased Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) penalties nearly 80 percent in 2016. Today, a Serious violation can fetch a maximum penalty of $13,260, and a...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New Review Commission decision refines the definition of what OSHA must prove to establish a “Repeat” violation....more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there were an unprecedented number of changes all through 2017. And if the first two months...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Act provides for increased penalties when an employer repeatedly violates a standard. While there is no specific time frame established in the statute for how long OSHA can look back for a...more
The Second Circuit offered no valentines to employers on Wednesday when it affirmed a citation issued to Triumph Construction Corporation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for a repeat violation of...more
Until 2015, it was the practice of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to look back only three years to establish “repeat” violations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act). In 2015, OSHA...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Cal/OSHA has recently amended its definition of “repeat” for inspcetion citations to reconcile differences from the Federal OSHA program. The updated rules expand potential liability to California...more